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47 “‘If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan,48 they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them:49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves.50 They and their buyer are to count the time from the year they sold themselves up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for their release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired worker for that number of years.51 If many years remain, they must pay for their redemption a larger share of the price paid for them.52 If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, they are to compute that and pay for their redemption accordingly.53 They are to be treated as workers hired from year to year; you must see to it that those to whom they owe service do not rule over them ruthlessly.

54 “‘Even if someone is not redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee,55 for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Reward for Obedience

26 “‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.

2 “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

6 “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you.8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.11 I will put my dwelling place[a] among you, and I will not abhor you.12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

Punishment for Disobedience

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.17 I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

18 “‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.19 I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.20 Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.

21 “‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

23 “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me,24 I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over.25 And I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands.26 When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

27 “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me,28 then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over.29 You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you.31 I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings.32 I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.33 I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

36 “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.37 They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.38 You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.39 Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’ sins they will waste away.

40 “‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me,41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.43 For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees.44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God.45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”

46 These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the Lord established at Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses.

Redeeming What Is the Lord’s

27 The Lord said to Moses,2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value,3 set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[c] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel[d];4 for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[e];5 for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[f] and of a female at ten shekels[g];6 for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[h] of silver and that of a female at three shekels[i] of silver;7 for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[j] and of a female at ten shekels.8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.

9 “‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy.10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy.11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest,12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be.13 If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging.47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b] A wedding song.

1 My heart is stirred by a noble themeas I recite my verses for the king;my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2 You are the most excellent of menand your lips have been anointed with grace,since God has blessed you forever.

3 Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one;clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.4 In your majesty ride forth victoriouslyin the cause of truth, humility and justice;let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.5 Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;let the nations fall beneath your feet.6 Your throne, O God,[c] will last for ever and ever;a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;therefore God, your God, has set you above your companionsby anointing you with the oil of joy.8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;from palaces adorned with ivorythe music of the strings makes you glad.9 Daughters of kings are among your honored women;at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:Forget your people and your father’s house.11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;honor him, for he is your lord.12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,[d]people of wealth will seek your favor.13 All glorious is the princess within her chamber;her gown is interwoven with gold.14 In embroidered garments she is led to the king;her virgin companions follow her—those brought to be with her.15 Led in with joy and gladness,they enter the palace of the king.

16 Your sons will take the place of your fathers;you will make them princes throughout the land.

17 I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.